The In-Between Generation
by originmsd
Summary: Decades after Yugi and his friends saved the world over and over and over again, the hero's burden fell on the next generation. Jaden and Yusei were the heroes of the next generation, and the legends Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba would likely disappear into obscurity. But that wasn't a tragedy. After all, they had lives to live, people to see, places to go, and families to found...
1. Chapter 1

Two teenaged girls were rushing down the well-lit urban street in the middle of the night. Both of them were athletically built, but one was a few inches taller. The shorter girl had deep, dark red shoulder-length straight hair with blond highlights and Asian almond eyes with a very rare, purplish color. She was dressed in worn-looking jeans, white sneakers with pink laces, and a white t-shirt covered with various quotes from well-known people. She was covered in a black, unzipped hooded sweatshirt, and also wore a silver bracelet with the letters "Next King of Games" engraved. The taller girl had even shorter hair which was as white as polar bear fur, and deep blue eyes. Although she looked somewhat Caucasian, her appearance was ambiguous. She had a very pale complexion, but with facial features that were very pretty but could have belonged to a number of different races. She wore a white long-sleeved business shirt with a neck tie wrapped loosely around it, and a just-above-the-knee blue/white pleated skirt. Despite the frigid cold, she opted to tie her beige sweater around her waist rather than actually wear it. She also wore silver sneakers and a silver necklace with a pendant in the shape of a Blue Eyes White Dragon. The two girls were best friends, although clearly they had their own styles. With a common goal in mind, they snuck into a back alley adjacent to a tall office building, and found a door with a key card reader and a number pad. The taller girl took out a key card, slid it into the card reader, punched in her social security number, and unlocked the door, where they immediately rushed down a hallway.

Joanne Moto and Kitara Kaiba were once again on one of their little late night play dates. They were sneaking into Kaiba Corp's technology lab, again, for the seventh time. Joanne realized how atypical it was, for two teenage girls in the middle of Manhattan to be interested in a high security building where a bunch of white coats worked on shit that they couldn't even understand… except maybe Kitara, who was a nerd. That was the whole reason why they waited until Saturday night, because Kitara refused to sneak out and do anything on a school night. She had the guts to sneak into a high security building that was Kaiba Corp's equivalent of Area 51, but not if it meant sleeping past 11PM when there was class the next day. Sheesh. But then the whole thing was usually Joanne's idea anyway, because there was one section of the facility that she absolutely had to see every single time, the Duel Monsters R & D Laboratory. And this time there was one particular piece of technology they absolutely had to check out before Joanne would be able to get more than four hours of sleep a night and not fantasize about it. She had to see the duel runner simulator.

_May 30 2025. It's been more than two decades since Yugi and his friends helped save the world, and the course of history did not sit still. Japan, despite some rough patches from the previous decade, rode out the worldwide economic depression virtually unscathed. Overpopulation and the chance to capitalize on the woes of other nations led to a major outflux of Japanese business people and entrepreneurs to different parts of the world, especially the United States and China. By using capital from back home and knowledge of more efficient business and technical practices, quite a few Japanese established themselves nicely in the land of opportunity. Kaiba Corporation was one of the first major companies to outsource its essence across the world, and during the early years of the "Great Japanese Excursion" they created a huge market for their products in virtually every major urban neighborhood in America. Surprisingly, there was very little backlash from the general population. America had successfully adapted to the conditions of the brave new world, but only by giving up its enormous lead as an international military superpower and instead redirecting its resources back towards itself, improving its educational systems, medical systems, and infrastructure. This did wonders for the American people at first, but with a reduced ability to project its military might to the rest of the world, other nations became more economically protectionist and many American corporations collapsed, allowing the Japanese to walk right in and save the day. _

_Seto Kaiba thoroughly researched American culture and was able to portray his company as the ultimate unification of two worlds, east and west, making it the most popular and well respected out of all the other "posers", as he liked to call them. It also helped that Americans had no trouble pronouncing his last name. Heavily invested in his new sphere of influence, Seto decided to permanently move his residence to New York and leave a young upstart named Rex Goodwin in charge of New Domino City headquarters. This is how his adopted daughter, Kitara, arrived in the United States. _

"Ok, we're here. Promise me that when you stop drooling all over the floor you're not gonna like, make me start licking it, ok?" Kitara said this with a disgusted tone. Joanne smirked back. "Hee, is that what you want?" She then tilted her head up and put her finger to her chin as though she were actually thinking about it. Kitara lightly smacked the back of her head. They were now at the end of another hallway, and were confronted with an imposing metal door. Kitara slid her dad's key card through another card reader and enter the password into another keypad, "k-i-s-a-r-a-'-s-d-r-a-g-o-n". Kitara never understood why dad would use her name misspelled as the password, but then there were a lot of things she didn't know about him. The large metallic door unlocked after several seconds of internal mechanisms clicked and clacked and creaked. Kitara knew the thing was designed to withstand a bomb blast. When the door finally opened, Joanne rushed in and started looking around at the new equipment that had been developed. As she hopped from one piece of machinery to the next, her eyes began to water with excitement. Both she and Kitara were obsessed with electronics (although Kitara was much more skilled with them). Joanna turned her smiling but conserved friend, who had just started to really enter the room. "I wish my dad was in to these kinds of things." Kitara began to walk towards the opposite end of the room where there was another metallic door. That door held the main attraction. "I actually like your dad's career. You don't like learning about pyramids and stuff?" Joanne turned to her nerdy friend. "Yah, but you guys hardly ever talk about pyramids. You're all obsessed with the Pre-Dynastic period or whatever before they were built."

It's rather ironic that Kitara, Seto's adopted daughter, would be the one to take an interest in ancient Egyptian history. Seto was always aloof about ancient history. In his opinion there was "no sense in learning about things unless you can change them." Joanne actually agreed with this more than Kitara, who was always more romantic about learning in general. That's why Kitara and Yugi Moto got along so well.

_After Atem returned to the spirit world and the millennium puzzle was locked away forever, Yugi was once again just an ordinary teenager. However, his newfound self-confidence would serve him well. Not having to worry so much about rare hunters and giant demons with dragon penises did wonders for both Yugi's sanity and his academic success. Yugi found himself attracted to great historical leaders and activists. Foreigners, such as Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and Elizabeth Katy Stanton, and local heroes like Sakamoto Ryoma, who helped overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and bring modernity to Japan, were all equally fascinating. Yugi felt a kind of kinship with these people, having shared a body with the spirit of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who saved the world, twice. By the end of high school little Yugi had risen to the top ten percent of his class and decided he would make a career out of learning about history and teaching it to others. Yugi also developed a slight interest in feminism, after thinking about how brave Tea had been throughout all their experiences. By somehow managing to turn all the moral lessons he had learned (through ridiculous events) into a coherent personal statement that did not sound like the ravings of a mad lunatic, he managed to earn an international scholarship to New York University in America, where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in history in 2005. He then went on to become an associate professor of Egyptology at the same school._

_Oh, and he retired from professional dueling as he was pursuing his master's degree. His last official tournament was supposed to be in Domino City in 2006, the same year the "zero reverse" incident tore the city in half. Obviously the tournament was canceled and Yugi would have to move on with his life. His career and his fiancé, Tea Gardner, were calling. At the time Yugi was still the King of Games, but his fame waned as other champions like Jaden Yuki, Zane Truesdale, Jack Atlas, and Yusei Fudo eventually made names for themselves. After growing older and settling into pretty much the perfect life, Yugi decided there were worse things than having other people save the world for a change, something he knew about since his connection to the duel monsters spirit world kept him up to date with the latest "chosen ones"._

"So when was the Pharaoh Atem born?" Joanne asked as politely as she could without sounding bored. Kitara raised an eyebrow as she opened the door. "Around 3000 BC. He was the grandson of Menes, the pharaoh who unified Egypt's upper and lower halves, and the son of Aknamkanon, who helped develop much of Egypt's economic and political structure." Joanne nodded politely. "And why was Atem so important again?" Kitara, hoping that Joanne was actually starting to take an interest in this stuff, cracked a smile. "Well, he's famous for-" Joanne rushed into the room and exclaimed, "Talk later! Woah!" Kitara, excited at Joanne's excitement but also mildly disappointed, rubbed Joanne's shoulder and then rested her head on it and whispered into her ear, "Aren't they awesome?" Joanne suppressed a squeal. "Oh my god I'm going to cum in my pants!" What they were looking at were two motorcycle-like machines hooked up to platforms on the ground via a bunch of cables. In front of the machines were two large screens, the size of billboards. Joanne rushed to get a closer look and noticed that duel-disks were rigged to the front of the motorcycles. "Oh man, I'm going to play with this thing every chance I get when it comes out!" Joanne hugged the seat of the cycle like it was her lover. "Just don't use it as a vibrator." Kitara walked up to her and smacked her butt. "That's my job." Both of them looked around awkwardly and started laughing… until all the lights suddenly went on.

"Umm, hi dad!" Kitara stared at the back of the room, where stood a tall, thin, well-built man in blue silk pajamas underneath a black bathrobe. Joanne jumped and turned around to confront the legendary Seto Kaiba, who looked sincerely pissed off. Joanne had a great deal of respect for a man who could look respectable and intimidating while wearing pajamas, something she imagined very few old geezers could do. She remembered pictures of Kaiba when he was their age, and aside from looking even taller and stronger now, and less boyish, he was pretty much the same. His chin was now a tad thicker and he had traces of facial hair, and his features were more defined. But he didn't really seem old. It was more like… ripe, fully grown, and fucking scary to have staring right at you. "I have to say I'm very disappointed in myself. I thought I had raised you better." Kitara was trembling. She was much paler than usual, and that was saying something. "I, well I just thought that… well, I mean… I am going to inherit this place some day, so I'm… you know… taking a tour of my… I'm inspecting my future inheritance!"

Kaiba's lower lip began to twitch, and Joanne prepared herself to attempt at least one futile shot to the nuts before he beat the ever-loving crap out of them. Both she and Kitara were relieved when Seto couldn't keep a straight face anymore and snorted into a deep laughter. "I'm not disappointed in you for sneaking in here. I'm disappointed that you've managed to do it unsuccessfully seven times in a row." Seto pulled a remote out of his pocket and started clicking randomly around the room. In each location that he clicked holograms of normal objects, like trash cans, power tools, cabinets, and taped-up agendas disappeared and were replaced by various cameras and motion detectors. "You would have noticed them if you had the courage to turn up the lights more than half way when breaking in the first time." Kitara looked around, her ego bruised. Seto then turned to Joanne. "I apologize for my daughter providing such inconsiderate accommodations for her guest." Joanne smiled. "Heh, that's alright. But since we're here, can we try out the new duel runner simulators?" Kaiba grinned, but it was a sort of stern grin. "Sorry, but you'll have to wait until they're massed produced several days from now. I wouldn't want you two to get hurt."

_Shortly after acknowledging Yugi as the King of Games back in 1998, Seto realized that deep down inside he was more interested in his career as a philanthropist, and his relationship with his little brother Mokuba, who had been there for him through every phase of his life despite times when he was a self-centered asshole (which when he was young was most of the time). This prompted him to focus on expanding his corporate empire as a positive influence in the world, which he did for the next twenty years. The fact that he was able to essentially get through his midlife crisis while he was still a teenager meant that by the time he was in his late-twenties, he was ready to adopt a baby girl, whom he hoped would grow up to be as successful and powerful as him without the emotional trauma Gozaburo put him through. Kaiba had essentially become as close to lovable as he would ever be. Still, he never forgot that money made the world go round, and so in a strictly business sense, he was as ruthless as ever even in his mid 40s._

Seto escorted the pair outside to a limousine, which was prepared to take them all to their homes. Joanne pouted. "Come on, do we really have to go home? Can't I just sign one of those little waiver things with really tiny print that removes all liability you guys have towards my safety and lets you play with my organs when I'm dead?" Seto chuckled. "Driver, let's start with Yugi Moto's residence." Joanne pouted again. "Aww come on! Can't me and Kitara at least have a few duels at your penthouse first?" Seto yawned. "I'm not even confident I should let you two hang out Sunday afternoon. I could technically have you two arrested for trespassing on my property." Joanne became irate. "Hey, she's got her name on it too!" She gestured to Kitara, who had been conspicuously silent. Seto retorted, "Yes but you're forgetting I gave her that name, and I'm the one that decides if she gets to use it to take over my company." Everyone kept silent until they arrived at the front of a large apartment building. Seto pulled out his phone, which was the equivalent of an iPhone except it had 10 terabytes of memory, 20 gigabytes of RAM, and a 5.3 gigahertz tri-core processor. It was more powerful than a 20th century supercomputer, and Kaiba had designed it himself. He used it to dial Yugi Moto.

It was about 1:00 AM and Yugi and Tea were lying in bed together. Yugi was having a recurring dream where he was Atem, in the audience watching his wife on stage. Tea, in her youth, had a successful career as a dancer/singer and performed in many Broadway shows and music videos. A broken leg forced her into a temporary retirement, but that only allowed her and Yugi to focus on their daughter, Joanne, who was born July 22, 2008. It wasn't long before Tea continued her career as a coordinator, consultant, and choreographer. The dream however starred her in her prime, her intense voice thundering across the stage and into the audience, her body moving with all the passion and intensity of… root beer? Huh… Yugi's dreams always seemed to involve food, and in this dream each of Tea's arm movements released a thin, floating ribbon of root beer that would eventually accelerate into the mouths of a thirsty audience. He figured the presence of food in his dreams was his subconscious mind paying homage to Joey Wheeler, who was still one of his best friends and famous for his appetite. It was an odd dream, but he was enjoying it until Kuriboh suddenly popped into his head and crashed into his mind's eye that was watching the dream, essentially mind eye-gouging him awake. Yugi stood straight up and looked around, and then reached for his phone. He realized it was set to vibrate but that Seto Kaiba was calling him. If it wasn't for the spirit of Kuriboh he would have missed the call. "Kaiba, is something wrong?"

"It's not a major concern. I just wanted to let you know that we both raised delinquent children." Kitara and a twitchy Joanne were waiting in the limousine while Seto stood outside explaining the situation. Joanne took a deep breath and turned to Kitara. "I'm really sorry if I got you into trouble." Kitara stared blankly out the window. "I'm not in trouble… Hey." She suddenly turned back to Joanne. "Let me know if you can still hang out tomorrow afternoon." Joanne smiled and put her arm around her best friend. "You can count on it!" A few minutes passed and a man came out the front door to meet with Seto. He was shorter than him, but built similarly. It was hard to tell in the dark, but occasional patches of light emanating from passing cars revealed that the man had spikey black hair with a red tint and two yellow highlighted bangs hanging in front. It was hard to believe his hair was just like that. Kitara eyed him. Apparently he gave his daughter her eyes, but most of her other features were her mom's. Kitara thought he looked more congenial than her own father, which was true since whenever she came over he was very talkative and an advice giver. Yugi was just the kind of guy you could talk to about anything. He was sweet, gentle, and friendly. He was also an amazing duelist, never ceasing to amaze her when they dueled. Kitara had to remind herself that he was indeed known as the most ferocious duelist in history at one point, and he gave up his fame and fortune for his family.

Seto called Joanne out of the car. Reluctantly, she picked herself up and got out, leaving the car door open. Yugi looked at her daughter like he was going to finish off an opponent. "Well now, I didn't realize you had a new hobby other than dueling." Joanne smiled and scratched her head. She was getting pretty tall, as tall as Yugi, but he had the effect of making her feel shorter. "Well, you know me! I always like exploring new ideas and strategies. I just… wanted to see what it was like to live as a… ninja, arch-type… monster… yah." Seto was listening in and remembered her daughter's attempt at being a smartass that amused him so. He realized where she was learning it from. Yugi's face now looked like he had drawn the last piece of Exodia. With a sadistic smile he said, "So I guess this is the latest trend, method acting dueling!" Joanne's stupid grin became even stupider. "Yes, exactly! I… I… I'm grounded aren't I?" Seto and Kaiba eyed each other and then Yugi responded. "Yes, well, consider tomorrow your last day of freedom for three weeks. It would be longer but Kaiba tells me you two didn't cause any damage and didn't mean any harm." Joanne appeared disheartened until she understood the first part. "Wait, so me and Kitara can still have our duel?!" Yugi nodded and Joanne clapped her hands together. Yugi explained, "I expect you to keep your promises to your friends, and this is no exception." Joanne then put two and two together and turned to Kitara. "That means you're not grounded for tomorrow either! So I get to spank your ass!" Seto thought to himself how he managed to raise the soft one when Yugi and Tea, the friendship-speech-loving-dweeb couple, managed to spawn… that. Still, she was a good kid, and he contemplated some of her personality rubbing off on her daughter. Decades ago that would have made him shudder… actually, it still kind of did. Seto interjected. "Kitara, I expect you to be back home by five if you don't want a security detail escorting you home." Kitara nodded in affirmation.

Yugi told Joanne to run back inside. She said her goodbyes and did so. Yugi then turned to Kitara. "Good luck. You'll be needing it." Kitara smiled for the first time since she got in the car. Yugi then turned to Seto. "You know we should try to meet more often without it involving our children's mishaps." Seto smirked, "Hmph, what a multi-million grant to NYU's Department of Egyptology wasn't enough of a gesture of friendship?" Yugi smiled warmly. "A cup of coffee and a good old fashioned duel would have worked just as well." Seto's smirk turned into a genuine smile as well. "I have things to do. We can't all save the world just by using a magical puzzle box to destroy an evil demon with a giant dragon for a penis. Some of us have to do it the hard way." Yugi laughed. "Well I suppose you're right, although I've had a few more adventures on my own since then." Seto said sarcastically, "Yes, those old bones must be itching for someone like you to share your friendship speeches with them. How is Tea doing anyway?" Yugi's reaction to that was a little like an anime girl about to smack the main character in the head with a mallet for staring at her cleavage. But he regained his composure with a deep breath. "Well, as long as your inflated ego can handle our apartment, you're welcome to visit any time." Seto extended his hand out for a handshake. "I'm sure as long as our daughters keep meeting like this we'll be seeing each other more often." Yugi accepted the handshake. "Let's hope so."

Kitara and Kaiba rode back home, sitting next to each other. They were silent at first, and the Kitara spoke up. "Are you mad?" Seto thought for a moment. "By the time I was your age I had taken control of my father's company and ruined at least two major corporations without even flinching. Frankly I'm wondering why you aren't rebelling a bit more." Kitara was solemn. "I don't have the guts to pull something you did, and no reason to either. Besides, I don't think I deserve to own a major company." Seto stated frankly, "I'll make sure you deserve it." He meant this to be reassuring. "I have no intention of just handing it to you. I'll still be the best person to run Kaiba Corporation as a whole for a while. I'd like it if Uncle Mokuba started training you when you have time off from school next month, and every summer until you get out of college… that is, if you want it." Kitara looked at her dad's face with worry. "That's another thing, I'm not sure I do want it." Seto thought for a moment, again. "I didn't raise you to be a coward." Kitara squirmed, but then Seto added, "When you reach, an age where you have the confidence to make your own decisions, and are the past the age where you break into my company's top secret facility for no other reason than peer pressure, I want you to be able to look me in the eye and tell me that you're either ready to take on the reigns of Kaiba Corporation, or have decided to follow your own path. When that happens I'll respect your decision, because I don't expect you to throw your life away either way." Seto could sense that Kitara's heart had been touched, even though she tried to hide it. He put his hand on hers, causing her to look up at him. "And I'll always love you."


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, both Joanne and Kitara made it to Kaiba Land Plaza. The theme park chain was famous not only for its duel-monsters oriented attractions, but for its reputation for helping the unfortunate. 20% of all its profits went to orphanages, halfway homes, and other safe havens. Families who adopted children could buy cheap passes for a whole year, and orphans themselves got in for free. The park was also the first in the United States to host turbo dueling. Kitara and Joanne both dreamed of being turbo duelists (though Joanne was the one who took it seriously), and they both knew their way around a motorcycle. In fact, that was their primary mode of transportation. Kitara, who was considered a VIP, parked in the reserve parking section near the main gate, the perfect place to unintentionally show off her custom built Ecosse Tyrant 7, the most expensive and powerful motorcycle available in the world. It possessed a powerful 2000 cc engine that could generate 350 horsepower at the rear wheel, Kaiba Corp Special Edition stabilizer and fuel regulation systems, soft parts made of ceramic carbon weave, and a body made mostly of titanium alloy. Most people would not be able to understand what half of what that last sentence actually meant, but Kitara knew (with some humility) that she was riding finer than the President. The truth is her favorite aspect of the vehicle was the outer frame, which was shaped like one of her favorite cards, "Prime Material Dragon", and painted gold. It could also be easily converted into a duel runner, which Seto Kaiba promised to do for her 18th birthday.

Joanne had to walk to the main gate, but she didn't mind. Her motorcycle was one of the cheaper models made by what was left of Dodge and she wasn't eager to show it off. It was more or less an antique, the last vestige of a world that relied on fossil fuels. Nearly all modern technology owed its existence to a new form of energy called Ener-D, which was of course patented by Kaiba Corporation. It was powerful and efficient, supposedly utilizing advanced fusion technology and hydrogen fuel cells. There were rumors that the true nature of Ener-D was a tad more mystical, and some mad scientists claimed that Ener-D was actually a form of energy that humans were drawing from an over-lapping dimension. Whether magical or mystical, the new power source had ushered in a new age of technological advancement, and everything, from motorcycles to commercial aircraft, was taking advantage of the new fuel source with gusto. Yugi did not exactly approve of his only biological daughter riding a motorcycle, and so Joanne challenged him to three duels. If she won one, she could buy her own motorcycle. If she won two, she could buy one with Yugi's financial support. If she won three, he'd have to buy one for her completely. Yugi accepted, and easily clinched two duels. But Joanne managed to defeat him the third time and Yugi reluctantly allowed her to purchase one with her own money, saved from allowance and odd jobs. To his chagrin however, she picked the most badass looking model she could find with almost no safety features. He knew she only did it to force him to buy her a better one, but she eventually fell in love with the little rust bucket, and gasoline was now extremely cheap since no one really used it anymore. Still, Seto Kaiba promised he would buy her a duel runner if she could defeat him in a game of chess on her 18th birthday. She was counting on it, since fossil fuels would become illegal by 2027.

To Kitara's surprise, Joanne greeted her with a disingenuous grin. "I hate your motorcycle so much." Kitara gave a meek smile as Joanne gently assaulted her bicep with both her fists. "Let me ride iiiit!" (Each "i" corresponds to an oscillation in her voice.) Kitara replied, "I can't. My dad likes you a lot but if he ever found out I let you ride my motorcycle he'd-" Joanne interrupted. "He'd what? He never yells at you because you don't do anything. The worst thing you ever did was not do the extra credit on that homework assignment because you were suffering from laryngitis and couldn't perform the rap song. Hell the teacher was gonna let you turn in and get credit anyway but you turned it down because it 'wouldn't be fair.'" Kitara snorted. "Ha, I did that in seventh grade!" Joanne replied, "Hey, first impressions mean a lot. Come on, pleeease?" (Each "e" corresponds to each additional unnecessary second the word was pronounced). Kitara closed her eyes and shook her head. Joanne groaned. "Can you at least turn on the engine and let me rub my clit against the seat?" Kitara broke out laughing.

They got into the park for free using Kitara's VIP pass and headed straight towards the duel stadium. Along the way they noticed the duel runner rental stand. In New York you could have a motorcycle license by the age of 16, but duel runners required a permit you could only get at the age of 18. (The advent of Ener-D and more advanced technology made the roads much safer. Before 2020 you could only get a restrictive motorcycle permit at 16.) They ogled the young adults and their leather jackets and helmets and watched them smugly waltz over to the garage beyond the stand, where they would be able to practice turbo duels. One of those bro-type people claimed that he was going to be the one to replace Yusei Fudo as the current Turbo Dueling Intercontinental Champion. This one girl bragged about her special invitation to join the World Racing Grand Prix (WRGP) of 2026. Psh, they thought they were such hot shots. (Both friends felt this disdain, although Joanne was certainly more open about it.) Joanne stuck her tongue out at them and Kitara pulled her away. When they finally made it to the stadium, both of them grabbed the closest duel monster arena. "Hey Kitara, are you ready for the beating of your life?" Kitara retorted, "We're 5 and 5 and I'll only let you beat me so many times!" A playful devilish grin came across Joanne's face. "That's not what you said that night…" Kitara blushed. "Let's do this!"

_Kitara and Joanne overlooked something when they were scoffing at the turbo duelists from before. They were hotshots themselves. Joanne and Kitara went to the same middle school. Kitara had been homeschooled until she was 12 and was really nervous about going to public school. Joanne was her first friend, and they hung out everywhere. The two were also really interested in dueling and would spend nearly every recess and lunch playing with each other. Kids started to call them "the lesbian tag team duelists", since middle school kids are not that creative and many of them weren't progressive enough to know that lesbian is not an insult. They also attracted quite a few challengers. Even a few teachers had rounds with them. The two never lost, and it wasn't long before they were revealed as the children of the two greatest duelists of their parent's generation. Kitara secluded herself from the fame as best she could, but the added fact that she was the adopted daughter of one of the richest men in the world made it nearly impossible. Joanne reveled in her title. By the time they reached high school they were both youth league champions and regional finalists. Joanne had inherited the heart of the cards, and Kitara had been trained under her father's genius. They were both naturally gifted duelists._

A few people started to gather around. They knew what they were about to witness was going to be good. They knew it was going to be very good when instead of the standard 4000 life points, the two counters set to 8000. The two duelists were so formidable and aggressive that 4000 LP just wasn't interesting enough. People eagerly began to watch the holographic dueling display over the arena:

Turn 1

"Kitty Claws": 8000 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 8000 L

Randomly selecting duelist to go first… "Joanne of Arc" goes first!

"Alright! Let's see what I can do!" Joanne drew her first cards. "Ok, I set a monster face down in defense mode, and lay two cards face down. That ends my turn." The arena's holographic projectors soundlessly worked their magic and created three projections of face down Duel Monsters cards in the open space between the two duelists. The overall design of the arena was reminiscent of those used in the Duelist Kingdom tournament that took place nearly 30 years before. Despite all the advances in technology, it was difficult to improve on the classic format of two stands on opposite ends of an open field where their monsters would battle. "Your move, kitty!"

Turn 2

"Kitty Claws": 8000 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 8000 LP

Kitara studied her cards for a few seconds, but didn't see any notable combinations. This actually wasn't a bad thing since her opponent had two face downs anyway, making it risky to pull any fancy moves. Kitara looked up and was momentarily mesmerized by Joanne's confident glare before shaking herself free. "Ok, for now I summon this, my Masked Dragon to the field in attack mode!" The holographic projectors murmured softly to produce a large, red, howling dragon with a solid mask of bone. "Next I play this magic card, Stamping Destruction!" The red dragon took on a white-hot glow and made a move against Joanne's facedown cards. It stomped on one of them, and the holographic card was incinerated in a flash of light. "As you know, this card not only destroys a magic or trap card, but it also inflicts 500 points of damage to your life points!" Joanne's counter went down to 7500. "Now, I'll have my Masked Dragon attack your monster!" The creature took a deep breath and then unleashed a powerful burst of red flames. The face down monster flipped itself face up, and a large vehicle with a face, a living train of some kind, revealed itself. The train held out for a second before being vaporized by the flames. Joanne used her forearm to shield her face, and then uncovered it with a smile. "Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive's special ability activates, letting me draw one card." Kitara took a deep breath. "Ok, I play a card face down and end my turn-" Joanne interrupted. "No, I'm going to end your turn, by activating my second facedown Dust Tornado, a trap card which, like your Stamping Destruction, let's me destroy a facedown magic or trap card." The holographic card lifted itself up and revealed a picture of a swirling tempest speckled with feathers, perhaps of an unfortunate victim. A much more realistic whirlwind was projected onto the field and rushed into Kitara's freshly placed facedown card, sucking it up into its vortex and then crushing it with gale-force winds. "There, now you may end your turn."

Turn 3

"Kitty Claws": 8000 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 7500 LP

"My turn!" Joanne took a close look at Kitara's face and saw her bite her lower lip. She was so endeared to her mannerisms, her air of vulnerability, that she had to fight the urge to daydream about dominating her in ways other than dueling. Oh well, this would have to do. "I draw, and now I play this, my Black Salvo!" She threw her card down and a large black sphere appeared on the field. The sphere looked like a cannon ball except it had an evil white grin on it. It was basically Pac-Man's evil twin. "This card lets me resurrect a level 4 dark machine type monster from my graveyard, and I choose my Battlechanted Locomotive!" The black train from before projected itself onto the field, blowing its loud horn. "Just so you know, Black Salvo is a level 3 tuner monster, which means I now have everything I need to synchro summon!" There were murmurs of excitement in the crowd. It was rare for a synchro summon to take place so early in a duel. "Now, Black Salvo and Dekoichi, time to rev it up!" Kitara stared awestruck as the two creatures leapt into the air, which could not have been easy since neither of them had feet. Several green rings and lines of digital code encircled and then completely consumed the pair of monsters. They then unrolled and spread out to reveal a glowing ball of light. The light's intensity exploded, and when it subsided a new creature had taken the place of the two weaker monsters. It looked like a large mechanical shogun, and it possessed an impressive 2600 attack points. "Meet Karakuri Shogun model double O, Burei!" Kitara smirked. "That's quite a mouthful." Joanne replied by pointing at Masked Dragon, "Burei, bitch slap her pet into the graveyard!" The massive golem raised its weapon, a giant metal bansho fan, and swung it hard at Masked Dragon. The dragon took a bone-crunching impact to the temple and launched into the side of the arena. It made a large metallic booming noise before fading away. The arena was all about realism, and the creature's demise caused the whole thing to shake. "Do the math. 2600 minus 1400 is 1200. Pay up!" Kitara held up her hand. "Don't forget about Masked Dragon's ability. When it's destroyed, it can summon another dragon to take its place from my deck with 1500 attack points or less, and I choose my Totem Dragon!" A vague holographic snake-like creature rolled out onto the field. As it fully formed its appearance cleared up, and it was revealed to be a small, snake-like dragon with a disk-like artifact integrated into its anatomy at the rear end. The creature looked less like a dragon and more like a magical intestinal parasite with wings. "Ok, that's it for now. Your turn… kitty."

Turn 4

"Kitty Claws": 6800 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 7500 LP

Kitara's heart started pulsating. She was addicted to Joanne's strength and determination. It wasn't enough that she was a good person who always stuck by her. She always had to do it with style and a sense of humor. She wanted more of that glare, more of that personality. And if she was going to get it, she couldn't submit so easily. "Ok, I draw!" Kitara picked up a card. Now her heart pulsed with a different beat, one of impending victory. "It looks like my flagship creature is coming out. Totem dragon's special ability lets me treat it as two monsters for the tribute summoning of a dragon-type monster. And now I sacrifice it to summon, Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" She slammed the card on the reader, and with a bright flash a large, metallic four-horned dragon with a red trim and glare materialized on the field. The creature's roar vibrated the arena. In addition to being a terrifying spectacle, the monster also had 2800 attack points. "Now I activate my monster's special ability! Once per turn I can special summon a dragon monster from my hand or graveyard, and I choose my Masked Dragon!" The red dragon with a bone skull mask reappeared next to the large metal dragon. "Now, Red Eyes, destroy her Shogun with Darkness Metal Flare!" The creature opened its mouth and gathered a whirl of punishing red-black energy. When it had formed into a tight sphere, the dragon flung it like a torpedo at Karakuri Shogun. A large fireball erupted in front of Joanne and when it cleared, there was no trace of the metal titan left. "Now, Masked Dragon, attack her life points directly!" The red dragon spit its flames at Joanne and her life point counter dropped. Even though the holograms weren't actually dangerous, they felt surprisingly hot. "That ends my turn."

Turn 5

"Kitty Claws": 6800 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 5900 LP

There was nothing quite like it. Joanne kept calling Kitara kitty, but if anyone felt like a feline predator that salivated from the tenacity of her prey, it was Joanne. "Heh." Joanne drew. "I play Allure of Darkness. It's a magic card that lets me draw two cards at the cost of banishing a dark monster from my hand." Joanne drew her two cards, and discarded and exiled a Doomcalibur Knight, a demonic horseman which she had no use for at the moment. "I love it when you try to claw at me, but you're not the only one who can wield dragons! Let's go Cyber Dragon!" A silver halo appeared over the field, and a large silver metal serpent flew through it like a portal to materialize onto the field. The creature had 2100 attack points. "Cyber Dragon was special summoned because you had a monster on the field and I didn't, and now I can normal summon this, my friend Blackwing, Gale the Whirlwind!" Through a burst of feathers, a cross between a crow and a human appeared onto the field. The creature was actually quite endearing, with its oversized eyes and cartoon expression. "Now I activate its special ability! Weaken Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" The creature started to flap its large wings, and with each flap a powerful gust of wind crashed into Kitara's dragon until finally it fell on its back. Its attack points were cut in half. "Time for another synchro summon!" A few people in the crowd started murmuring in excitement. This would be the third super-powerful monster to appear on the field. "Now get ready, Jack Atlas fans!" Kitara raised an eyebrow as Joanne appeared to be addressing the audience. "Cyber Dragon and Gale the Whirlwind, combing to form, Red Dragon Archfiend!" The former creatures flew upwards and faded away as though they were flying into the heavens. Seconds later a massive creature descended onto the field from holographic shadows in the air. This being, also a large, winged dragon was bigger than Red Eyes. Its body was made of muscular flesh and thick bone-like scales. Red bone plates, blackish grey skin, and a crown of three horns made it resemble Satan itself. The creature had 3000 attack points. "Awesome, now, attack and destroy Red Eyes!" The dragon reared its head back and then lunged it forward, releasing intense white hot flames. Red Eyes, still incapacitated, stood no chance and was vaporized. "And just for good measure, I'll play this magic card Smashing Ground, which destroys your Masked Dragon." A giant fist literally came down from the sky and squashed Masked Dragon like a bug. A few audience members laughed out loud. "Your turn."

Turn 6

"Kitty Claws": 5400 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 5900 LP

The crowd was roaring. The duel hadn't stood still at all since it started. Both players were blasting each other every single turn, revealing more and more powerful monsters. There were some little kids yipping in excitement over the summoning of Red Dragon Archfiend, which was legendary for being former Turbo Dueling Champion Jack Atlas' trump card. A few people noticed the irony in that neither player seemed to be using their parent's trump cards. Joanne Moto hadn't even played any spell casters, let alone the Dark Magician. And while Kitara certainly inherited Kaiba's love of dragons, her favorite card wasn't Blue Eyes White Dragon, but rather a card which was essentially an upgraded version of Joey Wheeler's Red Eyes Black Dragon.

Kitara was actually shocked. A great deal of their bantering was actually for the sake of the crowd, since they knew each other's decks quite well. However, she never remembered seeing Red Dragon Archfiend in Joanne's deck. Clearly her deck had been upgraded. Those eyes… Joanne's eyes… Kitara took a deep breath. "My turn." She drew her card. Her eyes lit up. It was just the card she needed. "I love your new pet dragon, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to put it down." Joanne smirked and felt herself blush slightly. Kitara's atypical authoritarian voice was kinda hot. "Since I have no monsters left on the field Totem Dragon is resurrected!" The strange, parasitic little dragon squirmed out of the floor of the arena and plopped onto the field in attack mode. "Next I play Delta Flyer in attack mode!" This dragon was no less peculiar. It had no arms and instead had oversized legs and thin, insect-like wings. It looked like it was wearing some yellowish armor plate and had a single horn on its nose. "This creature lets me add a level to one other monster on the field, and I choose my Totem Dragon. And by the way, Delta Flyer's a tuner monster. If you can play dragons, then I can synchro summon. Let's go!" The two creatures leaped into the air and in a manner similar to Joanne's first synchro summon, produced a large, serpent-like dragon with a brilliant, crystalline shine. It took many in the audience a moment to realize that the creature was made of ice. "Come forth, Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" Joanne smirked. "Did you just say 'come forth'? You really are like my dad, so theatrical." Kitara's face turned slightly evil grinned. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can activate Brionac's special ability, which lets it return a monster on the field to the hand, or in this case extra deck, so say good bye to Red Dragon Archfiend!" Kitara discarded a card, and Brionac let loose a chilling blizzard from its body that literally blew Red Dragon Archfiend off the field. "Now, Brionac, attack!" The dragon did something unexpected. Instead of breathing fire or ice or whatever it was that dragons exhaled, the creature actually charged at Joanne and whipped its body around so that its tail crashed into the platform she was standing on. She nearly fell off due to the shockwave. Joanne steadied herself before retorting. "You must be happy you drew Delta Flyer. Lucky little cu-" Kitara interrupted. "That wasn't the card I drew. I had that card in my hand for a while." Joanne's face flushed when she realized what card Kitara drew. "Now I play the magic card Future Fusion! Let me explain to the audience what it does. I can take fusion material monsters from my deck and send them to the graveyard, and in two full turns I can summon that card. Now I send three Red Eyes Wyverns and two Red Eyes Darkness Dragons to the graveyard in preparation to summon the creature in duel monsters with the highest attack of all, Five Headed Dragon!" Vague images of the cards appeared on the field. They were transparent ghosts of the cards they represented. Those images were then pulled into a swirling vortex of light, which later flashed, for a second, the image of Five Headed Dragon. There the vortex remained. "I play a facedown card and end my turn."

Turn 7

"Kitty Claws": 5400 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 3600 LP

This was it. Joanne needed to figure out how to stop the summoning of Five Headed Dragon. "Ok, my turn!" Right before Joanne drew she felt a tingling sensation go up her spine. After years of dueling she somehow learned to understand her deck to the point where she could sometimes sense when she was going to draw an important card. Her father referred to it as the Heart of the Cards, a phenomenon in which supposedly your deck will actually reach out to you and give you what card you need at the right time. Although she didn't put much stock in it (and felt like it was cheating anyway), she somehow knew that she was going to draw something that could help her. Sure enough, she did. "I play this card, Breaker the Magical Warrior!" She had to admit, this was one of her favorite cards, and a card given to her by her father. Breaker looked a lot like Dark Magician, except its armor was red and bulkier and it had a sword. "Now I activate Breaker's special ability. When Breaker comes onto the field, it comes with a spell counter that increases its attack by 300 points. But, I can remove that spell counter to destroy a magic or trap card on the field!" Joanne was going to pick Future Fusion, which would prevent the summoning of Five Headed Dragon. But then her intuition kicked in. She looked at the field and then looked at her hand. "I choose the face-down card you placed last turn!" Breaker leapt forward and slashed at the card, which turned out to be a trap card named Dimensional Prison. Joanne was planning to attack Brionac, and if she had done so without destroying that trap card, Breaker would have been banished. Kitara looked stunned. "How… how did you know?" Joanne looked mystified as well. "I… lucky guess? Umm, yah, so now I play the magic card Book of Moon, which flips Brionac face-down in defense mode!" Breaker now held a blue book with an engraved golden moon on it. He pointed at Brionac, which then reverted to a facedown card. Brionac had 2300 attack points, but only 1400 defense points, and Breaker had 1600 attack points. "Breaker, attack!" Breaker took its sword and leapt onto the facedown card, slicing it in half. Brionac was gone. "Ok, I end my turn."

Turn 8

"Kitty Claws": 5400 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 3600 LP

Kitara was still a bit stunned. "Joanne, if you hadn't destroyed Dimensional Prison, Breaker would be gone and I would have attacked you directly with Brionac and another monster. Good job." Her voice trailed slightly near the end. She then shook her head and reasserted herself. "I'm going to reward you, by not playing any cards during my main phase. So I draw and that's it. But just so you know, since I didn't play any cards, I can activate Red Eyes Wyvern's special ability from the graveyard during my end phase. By banishing it, I can resurrect Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from my graveyard. And since I have three Red Eyes Wyverns and three Red Eyes Dragons in my graveyard, I can summon all three of my Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragons at once!" In order to portray Red Eyes Wyvern's corpse being used as a sacrifice, three red-glowing pentagrams appeared on the field, with a relatively small draconic skeleton placed on top of them. Flames ignited underneath the skeletons, and the white bones disappeared in ashes. Then the three dragons came bursting forth from holographic earth that had been laid for the occasion, each one as terrifying as the original. "Your turn. Try not to freak out too much."

Turn 9

"Kitty Claws": 5400 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 3600 LP

Easier said than done. This was probably the first time Kitara had ever summoned three of those behemoths at once. She had a card in her hand that could hold them off, but it would only be a matter of time before Kitara circumvented it. The next draw was going to count for a lot. She took a deep breath. "Ok." She drew, thinking to herself this seemed a lot more serious than usual. "Ok, the card I draw is Pot of Duality! It lets us examine the top three cards in my deck, and I pick one to add to my hand. The penalty is that I can't special summon this turn." She revealed the top three cards in her hand. Two of them were monsters that were too weak to be of any assistance, but one of them was a monster which she almost never got to play. Kitara exclaimed, "You still have that card?! I thought you got rid of it because it was too hard to play!" Joanne responded. "Well, I added another card that could help me play it by removing a dark monster in my graveyard, in case I had too many." Kitara suddenly grew cold. "No… not… that one… Huh." Oddly, both players started to loosen up a bit and felt less competitive. "You could actually play it now since you have exactly three dark monsters. I've been keeping track. Black Salvo, Blackwing, and your train thing. But since you played Pot of Duality you need to wait. Do you have anything else?" Kitara's voice lost her fire and was much more analytical, even sympathetic. Joanne was discomforted by Kitara's sudden lack of passion. After all, she had the upper hand, but she wasn't the type of person to go in for the kill. "Hang on, I play a monster face down in defense mode… and that's all I can do." Joanne was sweating. If Kitara happened to defeat this card, the duel was over. "You're up!"

Turn 10

"Kitty Claws": 5400 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 3600 LP

"Ok, you're in pretty big trouble if that's all you can do." Kitara drew. "Ok, this is it. You know what's coming now!" The Future Fusion card on the field began to glow a hot white, and the field itself began to tremble. Joanne covered her eyes as the blinding intensity of the light grew. The whole audience was covering their eyes. When the light faded, there it was, barely able to fit on the arena, arguably one of the strongest monsters in the entire game, Five Headed Dragon. Joanne muttered to herself, "Jesus Christ". One of the little kids in the audience started crying. Five Headed Dragon, obviously, had five heads, each one made up of the element it represented. There was a head of shadow, a head of water, a head of wind (which was kind of hard to see), a head of rock, and a head of fire. The beast had an unbridled 5000 ATK and DEF points. And it couldn't be destroyed by battle except by a light creature. Kitara couldn't help but feel that shred of joy of having something indestructible on the field. But she wouldn't let that get to her. The card that Joanne had, the one she never got to play, could actually destroy her beast relatively easily, as could that other mysterious creature Joanne mentioned earlier. Hopefully she wouldn't be able to play either one this game. "Now, just for some extra insurance, I activate the effect of one of my Red Eyes, to special summon this, one of my favorite creatures, Prime Material Dragon!" This card had to be one of the coolest things ever to behold, at least in her eyes. It was sleek, golden, had three wings, and a rippling shimmer that reminded her of the T 1000 from that old movie Joey Wheeler went on about that he used to watch as a kid. Was it "The Exterminator" or "The Destroyer"… meh whatever. It was more Joanne's thing to be honest. But the card still looked badass. It was fairly strong too, at 2400 ATK points, and would ensure that at least one monster would survive on her side of the field in case Joanne somehow managed to play… those things. "If this attack works, the duel is over. Now, Red Eyes, destroy her face down so my Five Headed Dragon can end the duel!" Red Eyes charged its blackish fireball and launched it at Joanne's face down. There was a large explosion, and when the smoke cleared, a creature had survived. Kitara sneered. "Son of a bitch. That little shit." Joanne smiled. "Yep, good old Spirit Reaper." Spirit Reaper was an annoying little zombie creature (which looks just like the grim reaper, except… tiny) which can't be destroyed in battle. It does however have a critical weakness, which Kitara had just the right card to exploit. "Heh, ok, so I'll end my battle phase. But I'm not ending my turn. I play this card, Forbidden Lance, and target your Spirit Reaper. Too bad Spirit Reaper doesn't like presents." Forbidden lance's effect lowered a monster's attack while making it invulnerable to spell and trap cards. Of course, it didn't matter. Spirit Reaper fades away whenever it's targeted by anything. It was cowardly like that. "And now that you have four dark monsters in your graveyard, once again you can't play that card. Sorry." She meant it too.

Turn 11

"Kitty Claws": 5400 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 3600 LP

It wasn't so bad, losing to her. Hey, better her than anyone else. She kind of wanted to just surrender, but she figured she'd at least draw a card and see what comes up so they could have a good laugh over it. But as soon as she touched her deck, she felt that same tingle as before. Her face froze. Kitara was concerned. "Hey, are you ok?" Joanne just stayed frozen. The Heart of the Cards, now? Since she was just staring ahead, Kitara turned around to see if there was anything behind her, and then turned back. Then she realized what was going on, especially when Joanne bowed her head in shame. "Hey, it's ok. If you have a card that can beat me go ahead and draw it." Joanne felt bad. She really enjoyed being the dom in their friend-lationship, but this almost felt wrong. She drew. It was the second mysterious card that they referenced earlier. She now held the two strongest monsters in her entire deck, and she needed the one she just drew to play the second one. Fate. A tear came down her cheek. She didn't want to win like this. The audience was murmuring in curiosity. Kitara interrupted Joanne's paralysis with a smile. "Just do it. I'll beat you next time." Joanne wiped the tear away and nodded.

"Ok, then by removing my Cyber Dragon and Spirit Reaper from the graveyard, I summon, Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the Beginning!" People were chattering loudly. That was Yugi Moto's card, and not only that, but one of his strongest! It was in fact the most powerful card he had ever wielded that wasn't an Egyptian God card (or likewise card of supernatural origin). A powerful black knight rushed onto the field with hardly any warning. The knight, which had to be eight feet tall not counting its triple spiked helmet, was covered in a deep, rich black armor with a purple shimmer. It had a silvery white aura to go along with it. It was easily one of the rarest and most powerful cards in the world. It had 3000 ATK points. "Yah, my dad decided I was ready to use this card. And since I played it by removing a light and dark creature, I have three dark monsters in my graveyard, which lets me play my second monster, Dark Armed Dragon!" This was it, Joanne's second trump card. This card actually wasn't all that rare, but it was still very powerful and could only be played under specific circumstances. But here it was. Its true form was difficult to see, since it was covered not only in black metal plates that looked like knight's armor, but also had various weapons sticking out, from guns to swords to drills. It was goofy looking but still pretty scary, and it had 2800 ATK points. Kitara spoke. "You know, if you're going to do this you have to do it in the right order, or you'll mess up!" Joanne responded. "I know exactly how to do this. First, I enter my battle phase and I attack Prime Material Dragon with Dark Armed Dragon!" Prime Material Dragon had the power to destroy cards with special abilities that could also destroy cards, which included Dark Armed Dragon, so it would have to be destroyed in battle. Dark Armed Dragon used its long tail (which had a mace attached to it, only god knows why), to splatter (since it did sort of splatter, rather like Mercury droplets) Prime Material Dragon. "Next, I attack with my Black Luster Soldier, which as you know can attack once more when it successfully destroys a monster. And I see no reason why it can't destroy two Red Eyes Darkness Dragons!" Black Luster Soldier struck the ground with its massive blade, which created a powerful white lightning wave that sped towards one of the dragons. The dragon was engulfed with lightning and vaporized, and then Black Luster Soldier struck the ground again, creating another wave that destroyed another dragon. "Ok, now that that's done, I can remove two of my dark monsters from play to destroy your Five Headed Dragon and your last Darkness Dragon!" Joanne took her Black Salvo and her Blackwing from her graveyard and put them in a separate pile, along with Cyber Dragon, Doomcalibur Knight, and Spirit Reaper. The Armed Dragon apparently took the corpses of the creatures and converted their bodies into weapons. Black Salvo became a large ball and chain, and Blackwing became a large feathered dart. Dark Armed Dragon took both these weapons and hurled them at Kitara's last remaining monsters. The weapons detonated on impact, and when the smoke cleared, Kitara's entire field had been cleared of all five dragons. "That's it."

Turn 12

"Kitty Claws": 4600 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 3600 LP

Kitara drew. She looked at her hand and the field. She had exactly two cards left in her hand, and they were both useless. She couldn't even bluff with them. She stood there, staring at Joanne with puppy dog eyes and a raised lower lip. Joanne became less tense and giggled. "Aww, poor baby." Kitara smiled and then sighed. She then placed her hand on her deck in a sign of surrender. Joanne couldn't contain her glee. "Are you sure? You don't have anything?!" Kitara shook her head from side to side. "Bleh, well if it makes you feel better. I play a card face down for no real reason and I activate the field spell Dragon Ravine." Although it would no longer serve a purpose, it was a nice way to end the duel. The scenery the card generated was of a beautiful sunlit canyon lined with lush greenery. The card's effect allowed her to discard dragons from her hand and deck. It was actually meant to be used with a specific archetype of cards called the Dragunity Dragons, which relied on empty hands and monsters in the graveyard. But in her deck it made summoning Red Eyes Darkness Dragon much easier. It had lost its purpose now other than to look pretty. "Ok, finish me off."

Turn 13

"Kitty Claws": 4600 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 3600 LP

Pretty amazing. Joanne had no cards left in her hand. Every single card had played its part. Talk about the Heart of the Cards! Joanne drew her card and blushed. She had drawn Marshmallon, another one of her dad's cards. When she was little, Yugi told her bedtime stories about how he and his friends had saved the world time and time again. She stopped believing these stories when she was older, but she still loved them. According to Yugi, Marshmallon was one of those cards that helped save his life against, what was his name? Baruka? Ugh, whatever. It did occur to her that maybe Marshmallon was trying to remind her of the Heart of the Cards… Nah! "Ok, then I use Dark Armed Dragon's effect to destroy your last face down card." The dragon turned Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive into a large battering ram weapon, and hurled it at the face down, which was an inconsequential trap card. "Aaaaaaaand both my monsters attack." Dark Armed Dragon and Black Luster Soldier both attacked, draining the rest of Kitara's life points.

"Kitty Claws": 0 LP

"Joanne of Arc": 3600 LP

GAME OVER! "Joanne of Arc" is the winner!

Both players fell face first on the card readers in front of them, half in jest, half sincerely, and started laughing. They were exhausted. The audience cheered. Joanne sank to her knees. Kitara, who apparently had some energy to spare, hopped off the platform, ran to the other side, and helped Joanne stand up. She then raised Joanne's arm and waved it to the audience, whom were giving a standing ovation. A few people were taking pictures of the two.


End file.
